Buildings Magazine - September 2016

GREENERFACILITIES

“New broadloom carpet should be aired out for 24 hours. Lay it out the night before installation so it has time to relax and acclimate to your building,” recommends Lew Migliore, President of the consulting firm LGM and Associates.

Glue-Free Options

If you want to skip adhesives altogether, there are several products that are installed without glues.

Tac Tiles by Interface and Tile Tabs from
J+J Flooring Group use adhesive squares
that connect to the backing to create a
floating floor. This method protects the
subfloor from damage as well. There are
also several manufacturers that offer peel-
and-stick tiles. TacFast Systems uses a
releasable hook-and-loop attachment
substrate that is similar to VELCRO.

These options are faster to install
because there’s no drying time and spaces
can remain occupied during installation.
Facility managers can also rearrange and
replace tiles with ease.

Occupants can spend over 40 hours a week in your building and deserve an indoor environment that doesn’t create health risks. Skip the buckets of glue and use adhesives that keep your indoor air fresh and clean.

Jennie Morton is a contributing editor for

BUILDINGS.

U L E N VIR O NM EN T

The usual fight in a National Hockey League game will send its combatants to the penalty box for a few minutes, but the gloves-off fisticuffs against climate change taking place in multiple NHL arenas have provided some major energy and sustainability savings for their facilities.

Six venues in the NHL have invested in LED lighting and other energy efficient solutions. This year was especially noteworthy for fans of both sustainability and hockey as both teams competing in the 2016 Stanley Cup Final, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the San Jose Sharks, play in two of the six energy efficient venues.

The San Jose Sharks’ SAP Center became the first ever major sports facility to use fuel cells as supplemental electricity. Their new technology has netted them the replacement of roughly 25% of their electricity usage on game days, which will reduce the facility’s carbon footprint by 4. 8 million pounds of carbon dioxide within 10 years.

Having installed energy efficient lighting and a new HVAC system, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Consol Energy Center scored the first LEED Gold certification in the NHL and is one of only a handful of sports facilities in the United States to receive such a distinction. The Penguins’ home also incorporates other sustainable features, including recycled and local construction materials, as much natural lighting as possible, and water-efficient plumbing.

The NHL hopes to make these kinds of strides not only throughout the entire league, but also throughout the sport itself. These changes towards more sustainable solutions are part of the NHL Green program, which has a goal of reducing the resources used in hockey facilities all the way down to the local level in order to reduce the sport’s environmental impact and make the game more affordable.

Other initiatives the NHL Green program has established include reducing food waste, conserving water and restoring natural water sources, and Green Week, where teams share their own green programs.

NHL Venues Becoming
Sustainable
Hockey arenas finding ways to reduce
energy usage and waste

Anew chemical disclosure tool is aimed at meeting demands for product transparency by putting chemical hazards into better context.

Product Lens, a report by UL, was designed specifically for LEED v4 and targets the Material Ingredient credit in the Building Product Design and Optimization category. Its chemical assessment is based on the Materials Health Assessment Methodology used by the Cradle to Cradle Certified Products program.

“The Product Lens report is unique compared to other reports on
the market because it adds context and greater transparency about
where the hazards exist within the value chain,” says Albert Uggetti,
Vice President and General Manager of
UL Environment. “This prevents people
from focusing on just the risk associated
with chemicals and drawing potentially
inaccurate conclusions that a product is
harmful.”
Arauco North America and Sherwin-
Williams have already completed Product
Lens assessments for some products,
with eight more companies (including
Allegion, Belden, Mannington and Milliken)
currently navigating the assessment pro-
cess. Product Lens was created by UL
Environment, MBDC and the Cradle to
Cradle Products Innovation Institute.

“After thoroughly reviewing various options, we decided to partner with UL Environment to participate in the pilot launch of the Product Lens program,” explains Alice Albrinck, Senior Product Materials Engineer for Belden, which produces connectivity and networking products. “The highly visual format of the report allows for quick interpretation and understanding of potential risks while also protecting proprietary information."